The Martian's Mackenzie Davis signs up for new role in Blade Runner sequel

Mackenzie Davis, best known for her role in The Martian, has joined the cast for the hugely anticipated sequel toBlade Runner.

The sequel, which will star a returning Harrison Ford along with Dave Bautista, Robin Wright and Ryan Gosling, Davis has been cast in an as yet unknown role.

Denis Villeneuve, best known for his work on Sicario and Prisoners, has taken Ridley Scott's place in the director's chair, working from a script by Alien: Covenant scribe Michael Green and original co-writer Hampton Fancher.

Plot details are being kept secret, but it is known that the new story will be set a number of decades after the completion of the original movie. Shooting on the sequel will get underway in July.

Earlier this year the sequel was brought forward, it originally was due to hit cinemas on January 12th in 2018, but has now moved up to October 6th in 2017.

Released in 1982, the original movie was set in a dystopian Los Angeles told the story of Ford's Rick Deckard, a man who hunts down genetically engineered androids visually indistinguishable from adult humans known as replicants.